Integrating Technology in a Modern Setting

Check out this installation in a high rise building in downtown Atlanta. Just another way to make technology blend with your decor. Our philosophy is...

Welcome to SJ Media Systems

From the ultimate in high end audio and home theater to the latest in home automation SJ Media Systems is your resource for the latest in home technology. We specialize in designing and installing high performance systems that are amazing to behold and simple to control. If you're in the process of building a new house, remodeling an existing house, or just want to upgrade your audio-video system, contact us today to start the process.
We have over 25 years of industry experience working in high end homes. Our clients expect the best, and that's what we deliver. Some of the lines we carry include Crestron, Control4, Definitive Technologies, Russound, Velodyne, and more.
Whether you are looking for a simple surround sound system or a full-blown home automation system with lighting and climate control we can implement the perfect system for your needs.

The Latest News

One of the biggest problems with selling lighting control systems is the large upfront cost. Manufacturers such as Lutron and Crestron offer very powerful and reliable products, but they also come with a big price tag. Control4 is looking to grab some of this market by offering the flexibility to add one room at a time to your lighting system.

Control4 Makes Home Automation Affordable

John Pickering owns a home theater installation company in Orlando. He has been selling lighting control products of one variety or another for over 15 years. But up until recently the number of homeowners that opted to install full blown lighting systems was actually quite small. He estimates that about 15% of their total jobs decided to go with a whole house lighting control package.

The number one reason given for not doing it was the cost. Even a moderately sized house a lighting system could run upwards of $60,000. And this typically wouldn’t include the labor for installation and programming. This is a hefty sum to homeowners when the alternative is so much cheaper.

This changed dramatically when John started offering Control4 lighting products. He claimed there were two reasons in particular that made it such an easy sell.

First and foremost it is easy to install the system one switch at a time. There’s no need to purchase expensive lighting modules that often run over $1,000 a piece. You simply replace the switches that you want on the lighting system with Control4 switches. They communicate wirelessly with the automation controller.

The second reason lighting is an easy up-sell with Control4 is that the lighting icon on the touch panel remains in place even if you don’t have lighting control. At first this seemed like an annoyance. But it turns out it serves as a constant reminder to the client that their system was capable of more than what they were doing with it. John mentioned that he must’ve sold over a dozen lighting system upgrades due to this one little quirk on the touch panel.

Ease of Setup and Installation

While the lighting keypads themselves should be installed by a licensed electrician, the setup, installation, and programming is a snap. One of the difficulties with Lutron and Crestron systems is having a qualified programmer on staff that can handle all of the programming work required for these systems.

While Control4 systems do require some training, the amount of programming knowledge required is absolutely zero. This takes the pressure off of integrators to keep a high salary programmer on staff at all times.

Each new version of the operating system sees enhancements and improvements in the way the system is installed and operates. It’s turning home automation into a much more reliable feature in homes and it’s making the systems much more profitable for dealers to carry.

Occasionally we have to give a shout out to a fellow integrator that has done an amazing job on a particular installation. We found this one while browsing through the archives at Electronichouse.com. Talk about meticulous planning and execution. This is what every home automation system should look like.

Here are some photos so you can see for yourself.

Notice the attention to detail throughout the entire project. From an integrators perspective, servicing one of these jobs is a dream because everything is so well labeled.

This home automation company has trained their staff to be meticulous in their execution. While they are probably pretty expensive, this pays dividends in the long run for the client because servicing the system will be simple and quick.

Clients are often shocked at the price tags associated with these sorts of systems. But when you see results like these it’s easy to justify the cost. Even updating to new technology is a breeze because these systems allow for complete flexibility.

One of the biggest challenges in the home automation industries is selling the technology to builders. While demand has grown consistently with homeowners over the last 10 years, builders see automation technology as an additional expense and sometimes a headache. But in the past couple of years this has started to change as companies such as Crestron and Control4 reach out to builders in an effort to educate them on the income possibilities of their products.

It Starts with Education

During the last building boom from 2002 to 2007 there was a small increase in the number of spec home builders that started implementing automation products into their projects. At the time even many of the lower priced options in this category were too much for builders to swallow.

However this was only one of the reasons that builders didn’t begin installing better technology into their homes. Part of it was a lack of understanding from the homeowners. During this times home automation was still in it’s infancy. And from a builder’s perspective, if you’re clients aren’t asking for it, why would you include it in the home anyway?

The same thing occurred with audio products as they became more popular. Now you rarely see a house that doesn’t come pre-wired for surround sound and whole house audio.

The last 6 or 7 years have dramatically changed this. The number of homeowners requiring that their home have the latest and greatest in automation and energy efficiency technologies has increased dramatically. Builders are hearing this, and have begun to create packages for their spec homes that include better wiring packages and even complete automation systems.

Falling Prices

As with most things technology related, prices on home automation products continue to fall. In the early 2000’s it was difficult to have an automation system installed for less than $50,000. But now homeowners can get everything including lighting control, climate control, energy management, and audio video for under $25,000. This is still a significant amount of money, but the price tag has dropped by half in the last 15 years, all while the capabilities of these systems have dramatically increased.

Builder programs like those from Control4 help to recruit builders into their base of dealers so that they are able to profit from pushing home automation products in their homes.

Smart dealers such as Twist Technology (http://www.twisttechllc.com/residential.php) have also started working hand in hand with dealers to further educate them on the technologies that their clients want to see included in their homes.

All of this has combined to change what is being installed in even mid-level-priced homes. It’s good for the industry as a whole, and homeowners.

In the 3 years that we have been in business, we have been blessed to have worked on some amazing projects. Custom home theater design and installation is a very rewarding field in which to work. After all, we get to build our clients dream theaters every day. One of the challenges in this business is finding inspiration.

Very few of our clients walk through our front doors knowing exactly what they want. Typically they have a budget in mind, and perhaps a specific type of technology (such as a 4K TV or projector). But designing your dream home theater can be a bit tricky. Many times we have our clients do a few searches online to see if they can pull ideas from ours or any other custom installation teams work. You can even look at CEDIA’s top award winners in the home theater category.

This approach has never failed us. The easiest way to start is to think back on your most nostalgic memories as a kid going to the movie theater. Which was your favorite? What sort of emotions did it evoke? Who were you with? What did you eat?

These may seem like silly questions, but our senses provide powerful memory responses that can help us be more creative. If you want a theater room that reminds you of going to the movies on the weekend with you dad, immerse yourself in all of the details of that past experience. Then you can begin to pull these details and use them in a design for your very own room.

Some of our more innovative and unique theater designs have been pulled directly from the minds of our clients. Others have sprung from ideas they found while browsing through online images of home theaters.

One client in particular absolutely loved Gone With the Wind. Their home was decorated in a style consistent with a Southern plantation. Once they had an idea in their head of what they wanted, the design was easy. Details literally poured from them. And in the end they had room that they absolutely loved showing off and enjoying for entertaining family and friends.

Check out this installation in a high rise building in downtown Atlanta. Just another way to make technology blend with your decor. Our philosophy is that technology shouldn’t dominate the room. It should either blend in, or disappear.

The latest video technology to hit the shelves is 4k TV’s and projectors. They offer stunning resolution, clarity, and motion accuracy, but are they worth the price premium they currently carry? Let’s take a look at the basics of 4k technology and the difference between it and standard HDTV.

Can You See The Difference

There’s no denying that 4k displays are absolutely stunning to watch. But are they the big leap that all the manufacturers claim they are? The biggest problem we see with pushing clients into these devices right now is the lack of source material such as movies and television. Sure the displays are capable of up converting the standard 1080p signal to 4000 lines of resolution, but this is basically just filler material. The actual BluRay disc doesn’t contain that much data.

Another argument is that the human eye can only absorb so much information at one time. And resolutions beyond 1080p are truly pushing the limits of what are eyes are capable of seeing as well as what our brains are capable of processing.

So are these displays game changers like going from standard definition TV’s to high definition? No they’re not.

Where They DO Excel

There is one area in which these displays do excel. And that’s when you’re talking about really big screens. Even 1080p content can become fuzzy when displayed on really large screens. And with TV’s now pushing into the 80 and 100″ ranges there are plenty of times when this higher resolution can actually make a difference.

It is especially apparent on projection screens that are well over 100″. This is when you need the highest resolution you can get because every pixel becomes larger and larger as the screen gets bigger.

Forward Compatibility

One of the biggest reasons to go with a 4k display is to be forward compatible with yet to be released formats. Technology only gets better and better so if you’re going to be spending on a TV anyway, you may as well get the latest and greatest. The last thing you want to have to do is buy another one when this standard is fully adopted.

Our Conclusion

When these displays first came out we oscillated back and forth on whether or not to move forward with them. An integrator in Tampa (Innovative Sight & Sound) recommended only using them for larger screens. For any of our clients that are going with screens above 100″ we highly recommend going with a TV or projector that is 4k capable. For now there is no native source material, but certain brands such as Samsung have shown a remarkable capability to up convert 1080p signals without introducing artificial noise in the picture. You can see some of our installations with 4k systems in our Portfolio section.

One of the most important products to enter the world of home audio in the last 10 years is the wireless speaker. Sonos has dominated this market for the last several years with their sleek designs, elegant controls, and simplistic setup. But other companies such as NuVo are looking to take a share of this profitable niche. With their latest wireless speaker system they have taken a huge step in the right direction.

Getting Rid of the Wires

One of the biggest hurdles for custom installers to overcome when implementing a whole house audio solution in an existing home is wiring. If a client wants speakers in every room of a house this used to involve difficult work in attics and crawlspaces, cutting drywall, and pulling wire to each room. This is time consuming, messy, and extremely expensive. Often the thought of tearing up their walls is enough to deter homeowners from attempting it, even if the cost isn’t an issue.

So finding a method of delivering whole house music with a wireless solution has been a long time coming. And needless to say there is a significant amount of demand. Continue reading